The Brookhaven leader., 1887-03-24
ANOTHER HORROR.
Burning of the New Richmond
Hotel at Buffalo.
The House FILLED with Guests, Many
of Whom Lost Their Lives, while
the Rest Escaped In More or Less
Damaged CondItIon-Scenes
and Incidents.


BUFFALO, N. Y, March 1s-Fire was d.
covered at half-past three O'Clock this
morning in the New Richmond Hotel, cor.
ner OF Main and Eagle streets. The alarm
was sounded and the fire department re.
sponded promptly. The hotel was opened
for business about q month ago, and hand
somely fitted up and decorated, and was
filed with guests last night. The fire
spread with frightful rapility, and the
guests rudely awakened from their slum-
bers by the horrible cry Of ''ire," rushed
10 the windows and other possible avenues
OF escape. When they saw the flames
shutting of their way to the
ground their heartrending shrieks could
be heard blocks away.
At 4:10 a. m. the whole building was
ablaze, with six streams Of water play ing
on the north end, but the brisk wind was
baff ing the efforts Of the fremen.
By 4:30 a. m. the fire had enveloped the
northern half of the block, and spreading
round TO Washington street, Bunnelfs
museum was embraced in its destructive
group, and before 4:45 a. m. was a ruin.
At 4:l3 the south wall fell on the frame
structure on Main street, occupied by
| Creighton's saloon and Palaco's cigar
store. Two minutes later another section
| fell and completely demolished this struct-
ure.
At six o'clock the spread of the fire was
! checked.
The ground floor Of the hotel building
was occupied by Albrich & Kingsley
| stationery store; Peter Paul g. Bros.
stationery store and the Boston Clothing
House, IL of which are total loss.
The reading room and office Of the hotel
also occupied portion of the ground
| floor fronting on Main street.
The corner occupied by the Boston
Clothing House, was to have been fitted
| up as the office on May !.
Nothing is left standing of the hotel
| building except portion of the walls.
The origin of the fire is as yet not
known. VIM. II. Airport, the night cler k,
says:
'"The fire started in the cloak room under
| the main stairway, at fifty minutes past
three O'Clock. There was nobody up but
myself, Joe, the night porter, and Plum
mer, the bcll-boy. Ipull d all four OF the
| fire alarms on the different floors, and the
people came flying down stairs in their
night clothes Tho fire followed the cle
vator and inside of five minutes the watch
| man and | got plank and broke in the
| Eagle street entrance TO the hotel. Then
we got the plank under tho fire escape on
Eagle strect'and helped people down.
think there were about eighty-four guests
| in the house,
The flames spread to the southeast side
Of the hotel first The firemen did noble
work and confined the fire within the mar
| row limits of the three buildings named
Their work of rescue had many exciting
incidents. The telegraph wires were, as
usual, in the way of the ladder brigade,
and much valuable time was lost in get
ting the ladders past them.
Among the many brave deeds of the fire
men was one deserving especial mention
District Engineer Edward Murphy was or
ladder rescuing some of the occupant:
Of the hotel. One of the female domestic:
appeared at an upper windew, ar
parenty frantic with terror. He shouted
to her TO remain where she was and ht
would come up and save her. Instead o.
obeying, the girl leared from the window
AS she leaped in her downward flight he
threw out an arm and caught her arouuC
the neck. The shock caused him to lose
his balance, but he recover ed himself
and, still clasping the girl, slid down the
ladder with her in safety amidst the
cheers Of the crowd.
Perhaps the most thrilling escape Of any
was that of Press Whitaker, stepson OF
proprietor Stafford. He roomGd in the
fifth story, and when aroused stepped to
the window and looked down for few
seconds. Then he deliberately dressed
himself and. emerging from the window
stood on the stone Gaping above the win
dow beneath; from this Gaping he
80 - - u fh.nf ~
the building and proceeded in this man
ner to the Hayes truck ladder at the other
extremity of the front. The nerve and
coolness displayed was remarkable.
Colonel Z, J. Bassett, the veteran read
juster of the Etna Insurance Company,
of Hartford, Conn, said: II arrived al
the Richmond at half-past one this morn
ing and left at half-past three. MY enter
tainment was short and hot. objected
to going up high, but the clerk said the
third floor vas the best he could do.
was awakened by the electric bell-which
by the way, believe saved my life-at
first thought it the seven o'clock bell
but jumping out of bed and hearing the
cry of fire, realized my position. threw
ON some clothes and went into the corri
dor, where l met an immense volume o1
smoke, with the flames not ten feet away
red, roaring, horrible. The rotunda was
a raging furnace. Irushed blindly after
other flying forms, knew not where un
til l came to a staircase How i got dowr
l don't remember. must have cleared
it, with bare feet, at one
bound. With flames everywhere, smoke
in your eyes and shrieks in your ears, we
tumbl ed out into balcony on Main street
ON the second floor. Seeing water pipe
an ordinary conductor, grabbed it and
aid to the G round, sore, bruised and as
founded to find myself safe. / found my
boots on the sidewalk and my Coat-that's
all saved. 1t was truly a night of ter
ror."
Among the guests at the hotel were
twenty-five insurance men, who had come
to adjust the losses on the Miller & Grein
er and Courier fires. They are all ac'
counted for.
Chief Hornung Of the fire department
said: 'The number Of people rescued is
about twenty to twenty-five. We did all
we could to rescue them. We got two
streams in the corridor, aud at that mo-
ment the flames were shooting up that
big staircase and elevator, away beyond
the reach of the hose. We tried to play
both streams upward on the fire, bu
there was so much screaming by the
guests and calls for help from the win
dows that we called of most Of the men
from the hose and let the building 60 fol
awhile, giving all our attention TO the
ladders. Damn the building / yelled
save the peopler and the boys helped Il
man the ladders on the outside, putting u
two on the Main street side and the shorl
ones on Eagle street. There was need oi
Ii, too. 1t was a horrible sight 20 see